


Equivalent

by twilight_shades



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, M/M, Misunderstandings, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 04:30:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13356543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twilight_shades/pseuds/twilight_shades
Summary: Trying to make two into three causes misunderstandings.





	Equivalent

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Fiction based on observed public personas and wild speculation. Any resemblance to actual reality is completely coincidental.

Louis wakes up feeling amazing. Last night had been so good. He starts to say something, but realizes that he’s alone in the bed. He listens for any signs that someone is in the bathroom. All is silent. He looks around and there aren’t any clothes strewn on the floor where they’d fallen last night, not even his own, which are piled neatly on a chair. He doesn’t feel at all amazing any more.

When he sees Niall and Liam, much later that day, they’re cuddling on the couch. They smile at Louis, a little tentatively. He smiles back, though it feels stiff on his face. They act pretty much how they always have, as if last night never happened. Louis goes with it, thinking he has no real reason to feel upset - they hadn’t promised him anything, hadn’t asked for anything more than him to join them for the night. It’s not their fault that he’d thought, assumed really, that it was more.

A couple of days later, they ask him to join them again and this time Louis is sure that it’s just for sex. The sex had been great, but he can’t do that again. He doesn’t hesitate to turn them down, gently, but firmly. He won’t count the night they had as a mistake because he probably would have done it even if he’d understood what he knows now, though he wouldn’t have had expectations. But one night of no strings attached with these two is about all he can deal with. Any more and he thinks he’ll start to feel resentful and bitter, instead of just hurt.

~~~

Louis is not sure how much more of this he can handle. The disappointed looks from both Niall and Liam, who are both really good at them, well, those aren’t ideal, but he can manage. Their avoidance of him, on stage and off, though, that is quickly driving him batty. He could have understood a day or two, but it’s closing in on three weeks now. Harry’s been watching all of them, not doing anything, yet, but sooner or later he will do something.

Maybe he should count the night they had as a mistake. Maybe he should’ve just laughed that first invitation off, made like they were just messing about. But he’d been a little bit too shocked and much too tempted to stop and really think about everything. He’d been so envious when Liam and Niall got together. He couldn’t even decide which one he was more envious of. After, he’d had a lot of time, alone, to think. Of course, he’d never thought, whatever his answer, they’d react this way. Being rejected isn’t fun, but this feels like more than that. He had resolved not to treat either of them any differently, despite his hurt. Could they be embarrassed or angry? Neither had seemed like they were, but people don’t always like to let on when they feel like that. He’s tried to talk to both of them, but he hasn’t pushed because he’s a little afraid of what he might say. They can’t go on like this, or, well, he, at least, can’t go on like this.

~~~

Niall comes slamming into the little room out of the way room at the venue that Louis’ been sitting in before the show (just because it’s not set up for them and there’s no one else around doesn’t mean he’s hiding in there). “You can’t leave,” he blurts out.

“What?” Louis asks.

Liam then comes running in. “Louis, you can’t, you just can’t.”

“What is going on?” Louis asks.

“Harry said you were going to leave,” Niall yells.

That’s when Harry comes into the room.

“Harry said what?” Louis asks, giving Harry questioning look. “I’m not leaving. I wouldn’t just leave,” Louis says to them all, the _like Zayn_ hanging unsaid in the air.

Liam turns on Harry and says accusingly, “You said Louis was leaving.”

“No, actually I didn’t,” Harry says slowly. “What I said was that if you and Niall kept going the way you have been, One Direction might lose another member.”

Niall squints at Harry, “Did you mean you, then?”

“No, I meant Louis,” Harry says.

“Harry, I would never just leave, you know that,” Louis says.

“No, I know, but you have been thinking about maybe not coming back,” Harry says mildly.

And Louis can’t really say anything to that because he had been thinking about that. Not planning it, not figuring out how it would work. Just thinking about how he maybe didn’t want to come back after a hiatus (break, rest, sabbatical, whatever) to this.

Liam and Niall are staring at him and Louis can’t bring himself to say anything at all.

Niall breaks the suffocating silence with a soft, plaintive, “Louis…”

“Louis, I’m sorry, we’re sorry. We were being stupid. Just because you didn’t want- Look, we didn’t mean to make you feel bad or lonely or anything. When Niall and I, you know, started, um, dating, we promised each other that we would try not to do anything that would hurt the group. I think we should have made that promise to you. I think you probably thought it was understood. We broke that promise. We’ll be better,” Liam says, as earnest as Louis has ever seen him.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, we’re sorry. We shouldn’t have let getting with you affect the group or our friendship, because we haven’t been good workmates, but we really haven’t been very good friends. I’m sorry for that,” Niall says sincerely.

“Wait, you all had sex together?” Harry asks.

Louis cringes a little as Niall and Liam look surprised that Harry doesn’t know.

“It was just one night. If it had been more, I would have told you,” Louis says and then thinks about it and continues, “I probably would have told you eventually, but especially if I knew you were going to go tell them I was leaving.”

Harry shrugs, unapologetic. “Something was wrong, it needed to be fixed.”

Louis shakes his head. “Okay, everyone’s sorry-“

Harry makes a protesting noise.

“-except for Harry. And no one is leaving. And everyone will try to be better-“

Harry makes another noise.

“-except for Harry, who is practically perfect in every way, alright?” Louis finishes sarcastically.

Harry nods regally whilst Niall laughs and Liam smiles.

After that, things do get better, almost back to normal, though there are more awkward moments than there usually are.

~~~

Harry drops down onto the couch next to Louis. Louis glances up and then back down to the email he’s going through on his phone. They’re alone in the ready room. Liam and Niall are off doing some promotional stuff and probably won’t get back until it’s time to get ready for stage. Louis had come to the venue early to help out with some sound issues. Harry had said something last night about meeting with friends today, but maybe he’s already done that. Louis honestly can never keep up with Harry’s schedule.

“Was it bad?” Harry asks.

Louis deletes several more unimportant things (and maybe a few that other people might consider important) and answers distractedly, “What, the sound thing? It’s good, as far as I know.”

“No, not the sound thing.”

Louis looks up at the serious tone Harry’s using, then puts his phone down. Apparently they’re going to talk about him and Liam and Niall now. “No, it was really quite- No, it wasn’t bad. Why?”

“I heard Niall and Liam talking about-“

“Eavesdropping, Harold?”

“Yeah, a bit,” Harry says, unconcerned. “They said something about you turning them down. And since you said one night, I concluded there was an additional request.”

“Look at you, Sherlock.”

“Anyway, I didn’t really understand why Liam and Niall had reacted the way they did and thought maybe a difference of opinion about the sex was alluded to somehow, by you, as a second request implies enjoyment by them.”

“No, Harry, I did not in any way tell them that they were bad at sex. Or _allude_ to it, either.”

“Hmm.”

“What?” Louis asks, irritated.

“Why did you turn them down?”

Louis is going to tell Harry that it’s none of his business, he is. Except, instead, “They just, it was just sex,” comes tumbling out of his mouth. And now he can’t seem to stop the words. “When they asked, the first time, I thought they were asking for- I didn’t realize it was only for sex.”

Harry looks confused. “Are you sure that’s all they were looking for?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Because for all your behaviour after you and Eleanor broke up and Zayn left, you are essentially someone who wants to be in a relationship.”

“How kind of you to inform me of this fact about myself that I know,” Louis says sarcastically.

“Hush, I was letting you know that I know this fact and that it’s not exactly a secret.”

“And?”

“And, so Niall and Liam should also know this about you.”

“You would think,” Louis says bleakly.

“I don’t really understand. Did they say why?”

“They didn’t really say anything.”

“Then how do you know?”

“They were gone when I woke up.”

Harry looks baffled. “Maybe they had to be somewhere early,” Harry tries gamely.

“No, I checked and they could have left a message. Harry, let me ask, when you have snuck out of someone’s bed after a night of sex, before they wake up in the morning, what does that mean to you?”

Harry grimaces. “That I don’t want any… complications.”

“That you don’t want any attachments.”

Harry concedes with a nod.

“Having both of them tiptoe out the next morning so they didn’t have to talk or anything sent a very clear message, I think.”

“Oh, Lou,” Harry says sadly. Harry puts his arm over Louis’ shoulders and pulls him closer into Harry’s side. Louis leans his head on Harry’s chest, his arms looping around Harry’s waist. Harry wraps his other arm around Louis and leans his head down so that his head is lightly resting on Louis’. They just sit there for a few moments.

Niall comes in the room humming something, but stops and frowns when he catches sight of Louis and Harry. He drops his bag to the ground and turns his back them, apparently looking for something in his bag. He mutters something and Louis only catches what sounds like, “… in our faces.”

Harry lifts his head, but keeps his arms around Louis. “Something to say, Niall?” Harry drawls.

Niall stands and turns around. He looks genuinely angry, not something Louis sees that often. He looks like he’s about to say something when Liam comes into the room. The smile Liam has drops right off his face when he sees Harry and Louis on the couch. Liam looks at Niall, who grimaces. Liam looks back and frowns at Harry and Louis.

“Problem?” Harry asks, faintly disdainful.

Liam face goes a bit more stern, but he says evenly, “No, no problem.”

Niall looks at Liam incredulously and then says to Harry, “Yes, yes there is.”

“Niall,” Liam says, warning in his tone.

“What is it, Niall?” Harry asks, almost taunting.

“It’s like you’re doing this on purpose, rubbing it our faces,” Niall says.

Louis lifts his head and frowns at Niall in confusion. “What are you on about?”

“You, this,” Niall says and waves his hand at Louis and Harry. “You don’t want us, fine, but this is just mean, you-“

“Niall!” Liam says sharply, cutting him off.

“Yes, fine, we don’t have the right to be jealous. It was _just one_ night,” Niall states bitterly.

“You’re jealous?” Louis asks in surprise. “Of what?”

“Harry’s all over you.”

Louis squints at him. “You’re jealous of a hug. A hug for comfort, that’s what you’re jealous of.”

“Yes, I am!” Niall bursts out even as Liam asks quietly, “What do you need comfort for, Lou?”

Before Louis can respond to either of them, Harry speaks up, “He needed comfort because he had sex with two of his best friends and they snuck out afterwards and he thought-“

“Harry!” Louis interrupts, pulling back from Harry, face burning with humiliation. Liam and Niall don’t have to know how he went whingeing to Harry about what happened and they certainly don’t need to know about his mistaken assumptions.

Harry makes an apologetic face. “Sorry, Lou. Didn’t really mean to say that. I was just annoyed with how they’ve treated you, but I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“We didn’t _sneak_ out,” Niall protests.

Louis gives him a sceptical look.

“That’s not, we weren’t…” Niall trails off and exchanges a guilty look with Liam.

“What did you think, Louis?” Liam asks gently.

Louis looks miserably down at his hands in his lap, not wanting to answer, not even sure he could around the lump in his throat.

Liam clears his throat. “So, suppose you were in a relationship with someone who was great and it was good, but you both knew it was missing something, it was missing _someone_. And you had this mate that both of you thought was amazing, but you didn’t know exactly how to ask for what you wanted or how it would work. So you both decide to ask your mate to join both of you for a night, thinking that you can see how it works and if it goes well, you can do it again, ease your mate into the idea because his last relationship was very long-term, was with a woman, and wasn’t that long ago, and you weren’t sure if he would be ready to just jump into a, um, triad type thing. So you all have this wonderful night, but you make a complete hash of it by trying not to put any pressure on your mate and accidentally make him feel like all either of you ever wanted from him was sex,” Liam says.

“Oh,” Louis says, stunned, looking at Liam.

Harry coughs and Louis jumps, having forgotten he was right there next to him. Harry clears his throat and says, “I’m just going to go now, yeah?” He gets up and heads to the door.

“Harry,” Louis calls. Harry turns around. Louis smiles at him and says, “Thanks.”

Harry nods, smiles, and leaves the room.

Liam looks at Niall and Niall blinks and then nods. “So, uh, this is something that we were going to ask you, eventually, but maybe should have done first, all things considered. Louis, Liam and I think you’re brilliant, we are so gone on you, and we would very much like it if you would be together with us, in a relationship. Louis Tomlinson, would you please be with us? Be ours? And let us be yours?”

Louis hesitates. It is what he wants, but he’s a feeling a little uncertain about his place in this right now. “Like how?”

Liam gives him a questioning look.

Louis tries to spell it out, “Like all three of us together or like you two sometimes and then all three of us sometimes?”

“Oh. Um, like sometimes me and Niall and sometimes me and you and sometimes you and Niall, but mainly all three of together,” Liam says.

“So, not you two as a couple, dating me?” Louis asks, just to be sure.

“No. I mean, I guess that’s where we were starting from, but all of us, uh, equally,” Niall says. “You wouldn’t be the odd man out.”

On the one hand, Louis is happy that Niall got to the heart of it and on the other hand, he sort of hates that it’s obvious that he needs that reassurance. Louis takes a breath and says, “Yes, then, yes.”

Niall tackles him in a hug and the couch starts to tip over from the force of it, but before it can go over, Liam catches it. Niall smiles sheepishly at both of them. Liam shakes his head and settles on Louis’ other side, getting an arm around Louis, too and then he reaches over with his other arm to Niall, who reaches back. Louis gets an arm around each of them and all three cuddle together, there on the couch, until it’s time to get ready for the show.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you find any typos or if the format is messed up or if you think I need any tags.


End file.
